I’ve seen a number of reports over the last few months about how the Netbook segment of the computer industry is leveling off or even declining. The latest update comes from CNET, which reprots that Intel and researchers IDC are both suggesting that Intel Atom chip shipments are representing a smaller portion of overall microchip shipments than they were last…

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The idea that netbooks represented a brand new category of computing device was always a bit shaky. And I’m not entirely certain that anyone aside from marketers ever believed it. The truth is that a netbook is just a small, cheap, and light weight laptop. That’s it. If you look at all the so-called netbooks released over the last 2-3…

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Research firm IDC says that 30% of “consumer portable” computer sold in the EMEA region in the fourth quarter of 2008 were mini-laptops. EMEA covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Overall, 3.6 million netbooks were sold in the region, accounting for 20% of overall notebook sales and an even higher percentage of consumer oriented devices. 4 out of 5…

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Laptop sales are continuing to climb and low cost ultraportables like the Asus Eee PC deserve at least some of the blame/credit. That’s according to a new report from IDC. The report shows that desktop PC sales are down a bit this year in the US, but are still on the rise in other parts of the world. What’s more…

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